It is well known and recognized that the citizens of the world and particularly the United States have been continuously wasteful of our natural resources and therefore, we are currently at a point in time where we must locate sources of energy which neither deplete our natural resources more than absolutely necessary nor cause an excessive amount of pollution.
Although it has been acceptable in the past to utilize the flowing streams by building dams and thus using the stored water as a hydroelectric source, this practice has come under increased criticism because of the disruption of natural life cycle of fishes or the like and further because it inundates and thus renders useless a substantial amount of land. Attempts have been made to utilize nuclear reactors to generate electricity but this has come under extreme criticism because of the danger of an accident and the resultant nuclear pollution. Attempts have been made, and continue to be made, to utilize the energy of the sun to create electricity, however, this is somewhat limited by our technology and further limited by the geographical location of the solar collectors since to be effective, they must have a substantial number of hours during the day wherein the collector is subjected to the direct light of the sun.
With the above noted facts in mind, it is one of the purposes of the present invention to provide energy at a largely reduced cost in terms of the expenditure of natural resources or the disruption of the environment. It is proposed that this be done by capitalizing upon the natural flow of water which occurs in many places throughout the world.
Other structures utilizing water flow to generate electrical energy are disclosed in the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,436,683 granted to Wood on Feb. 24, 1948 which discloses a generator mounted within the spur of a pipeline wherein the flow of liquid within the pipe generates electricity which is used to charge the pipe material to minimize the effect of electrolysis. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,634,375 granted to Guimbal on Apr. 7, 1953 which discloses a combined turbine and generator unit for mounting within the throat of a convergent/divergent conduit including means for preventing leakage to the interior of the unit and providing improved cooling and lubricating of the unit. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,782,321 granted to Fischer on Feb. 19, 1957 which discloses a turbine for driving a generator which is of the underwater power plant turbine type. The generator is encased in a part of the water supply pipe so that it may be swiveled about an axis of rotation into the opposite inflow direction and thus be utilized as a pump. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,231,768 granted to Dannenmann on Jan. 25, 1966 which discloses an electrical motor for use submerged in a liquid wherein the stator is moisture sealed by forming the casing and sealing tube of a single material. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,353,028 granted to Braikevitch et al on Nov. 14, 1967 wherein the connection between the runner of the water turbine and the electrical generator located about the runner are interconnected without resorting to shafting. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,424 granted to Burkett on Jan. 17, 1978 which discloses a multiple unit installation of a motorized generator wherein the starting system is used to gradually adjust the rotational speed of a selected turbine generator set to a point where phase and frequency may be matched with that of the parking bus. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,673 granted to Lapeyre on Jan. 24, 1978 discloses a sealed turbine engine which becomes operative at low speeds of working fluid and includes a fixed stator with a rotor coaxially disposed about the stator for rotation relative thereto. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,186 granted to Jackson on Apr. 11, 1978 which discloses an apparatus and method for converting hydrostatic energy to electrical energy wherein the equipment is essentially automatic in operation. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,827 granted to Schneider on June 6, 1978 which discloses an apparatus for conservation of rainwater and including a means whereby the rainwater itself generates electricity to drive the necessary pump equipment. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,353 granted to Hoffeins on Sept. 26, 1978 which discloses a turbine machine having optional modes of operation. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,676 granted to Atencio Oct. 3, 1978 which discloses a submersible hydroelectric machine which will generate electricity with low head and a machine which is particularly designed for use in dams for navigational systems, inoperative locks, abandoned dikes and the like. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,118,636 granted to Christian Oct. 3, 1978 which deals with an electrical generating system wherein the turbine is driven by thermal air. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,381 granted to Sturm on Oct. 24, 1978 dealing with a home power station and in particular the distribution panel and means for giving status information with respect to the stored electricity. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,666 granted to Miller on Oct. 31, 1978 which discloses a tube-type hydraulic generator having a bladed wheel which rotates about a horizontal axis and is provided with fixed blades which are encircled by and connected with a rim to which the rotor of the surrounding electrical machine is attached. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,786 granted to Miller on Dec. 12, 1978 which deals with a hydroelectric machine which is in the form of a rim which surrounds a service water duct containing the bladed wheel. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,476 granted to Kelsey on Jan. 17, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,669 granted to Pitkanen on Jan. 24, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,969 granted to Basmajiam on Feb. 14, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,526 granted to West on Feb. 21, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,527 granted to Sadler on Feb. 21, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,838 granted to Pelin on Feb. 28, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,748 granted to Potz on Mar. 7, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,623 granted to Inoue on Mar. 14, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,544 granted to Blake on Apr. 25, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,764 granted to Brown et al on May 2, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,765 granted to Gillilan on May 2, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,869 granted to Hoffmann et al on June 6, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,118 granted to Rathbun on June 13, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,535 granted to Bronicki on Aug. 1, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,160 granted to Goto et al on Aug. 22, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,110,980 granted to Foulke on Sept. 5, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,101 granted to Obiya et al on Sept. 5, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,344 granted to Boerstler et al on Sept. 26, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,696 granted to Fawcett et al on Oct. 3, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,356 granted to Decker on Oct. 24, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,805 granted to Jakoby on Nov. 7, 1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,780 granted to Greenet on Nov. 14, 1978
An article in the May 1979 issue of Omni written by Scott Morris entitled "Gulf Dream" dealing with utilizng the gulf stream as a source for generating electricity.
Energy Technology Handbook edited by Douglas M. Considine published in 1977 by McGraw Hill in particular, pages 810-845.
Other references considered during the preparation of the application include the following:
With the above noted prior art and references in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a means for generating electrical energy using the kinetic energy, gravitational force and velocity of a flowing stream.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrical generating device mounted within the stream that disturbs the flow in the stream as little as possible while capitalizing upon as much of the kinetic energy as possible.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide means for generating electrical energy wherein the means is mounted totally beneath the surface of the water thus creating no disturbance and having minimal effect upon navigation.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a generator which is suspended within a stream of flowing water to extract kinetic energy of the flowing stream and convert it to electrical energy.
Yet another object of the present invention is to have a generator which is located some distance from the means for accepting the electric energy in that the impulses from the coil are transferred by conduit to a distant position.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a means whereby several generators may be electronically linked together such that the output is the average power of all of the generators.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a switching mechanism which responds to a change in frequency and interconnects to appropriate poles of the generator to assure stable frequency and voltage.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a water powered turbine generator which, to reduce the impact upon the water flowing thereby, is designed such that the maximum amount of water not utilized in causing turbine rotation passes through the generator including between the rotor and the stator.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an underwater electrical power generating mechanism which because of its low speed of rotation, the provision of an "as needed" lubrication system and its simple construction needs very little maintenance and is extremely long lived.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide means whereby electric energy may be created at a minimal cost and environmental disturbance.